Galveston, Texas (May 18, 2018) – This morning, in response to an active shooter incident in Santa Fe, TX, The Salvation Army Galveston County immediately deployed a mobile kitchen to Santa Fe High School. The Salvation Army is on site providing water and food, and emotional and spiritual care to first responders. “Our hearts go out to all those who are suffering through this tragedy and we are here to help in any way we can,” said Captain Patrick Jones, Commanding Officer of The Salvation Army Galveston County.

The Salvation Army Emergency Disaster Services team in San Antonio is on standby and prepared to respond as needed. Four emotional and spiritual care (ESC) personal have been requested from Greater Houston Area Command to aid the hurting community, provide comfort and if needed, prayer.

About The Salvation Army The Salvation Army, established in London in 1865, has been supporting those in need without discrimination for more than 135 years in the U.S. More than 25 million Americans receive assistance from The Salvation Army each year through a range of social services: food for the hungry, relief for disaster victims, assistance for the disabled, outreach to the elderly and ill, clothing and shelter to the homeless, and opportunities for underprivileged children. The Salvation Army tracks the level of need across the country with the Human Needs Index (HumanNeedsIndex.org). The Salvation Army has served survivors of every major national disaster since 1900. The Salvation Army does not place an administrative fee on disaster donations. During emergency disasters, 100 percent of designated gifts are used to support specific relief efforts. For more information, go towww.SalvationArmyUSA.org or follow on Twitter @SalvationArmyUS.

Nearly a quarter of the residents of Baltimore lack adequate access to healthy food. For many, the nearest grocery stores are minimarts with limited produce. And lower incomes affect the ability of people to afford healthier food, according to a study by Johns Hopkins that looked at the regions of the city where the need for more healthy food options is the greatest.

While hunger and access to good food is not a new problem for the city, a longtime religious charity is trying something new to tackle it: The Salvation Army recently opened its first nonprofit supermarket in the country in East Baltimore.

Lawrence Pollard and his wife, Faith, are shopping at the Salvation Army grocery for the first time. The store is called DMG Foods, which stands for the Salvation Army’s motto, “Doing the Most Good.”

The 7,000-square-foot space looks like your average supermarket. The couple admires the stacks of fresh-looking asparagus, juicy Gala apples and a variety of lettuce. Lawrence clutches a paper with the store’s weekly deal.

“I see a couple of deals already,” he says, “especially on the fruits and the salads.”

Now, many supermarkets brag about having the lowest prices, but we checked. The milk, eggs, butter and canned tuna at DMG are 50 cents to $3 cheaper than at the nearest chain grocery.

“Our business is not really selling food,” he says. “What we’re in the business of doing is helping and loving people. And the qualifications to shop here is to walk in the door.”

The Salvation Army decided to go into the food business because, Hogg says, it found a niche where many chain supermarkets stores could not survive.

Hogg says the organization did research around what it could do to “sustain a community, rather than entering into it on an as-need basis.”

“This is where we live; this is where we minister,” says Hogg. “Moving into that space, I think we can make a viable impact into the community.”

The DMG store has some help making products available to its customers. Some of the nonperishable food is donated by the Maryland Food Bank, while produce is bought from a large distributor that sells it to DMG at a steep discount. Since the store opened a couple of weeks ago, Hogg says, business so far is good.

He says the goal is to get to 300 customers in one day. To entice more customers each week, the store offers free items for SNAP beneficiaries. This week, it is giving away 10-pound bags of frozenchicken.

The store is an experiment. Hogg says if it makes enough money beyond expenses, proceeds can go to the Salvation Army’s home for survivors of human trafficking. “So not only are you just shopping and meeting your needs for your household, but in the end you could be actually helping someone who could be rescued from human trafficking.”

Over at the cash register, the Pollards are ready to check out. They leave the store clutching three full grocery bags. They’ve spent only about $17.

If the store is successful in attracting enough customers, Hogg says the Salvation Army may be able to expand to other parts of Baltimore. And if that works out, it hopes to open in more areas across the country.

The Salvation Army has high hopes that the Baltimore DMG store will succeed. Hogg says DMG is not just a motto — it’s a promise.

Tampa, Florida: In the aftermath of the tragic shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, two Salvation Army mobile feeding units were dispatched to the scene. The mobile feeding unit from Ft. Lauderdale with Major Albert Cancia, the Ft Lauderdale Corps officer on board, and the West Palm Beach mobile unit with Major Pierre Smith, the Palm Beach Area Commander have been serving first responders at the scene. In addition, Major Keath Biggers the Ft. Lauderdale Area Commander has been at the Broward County Emergency Management Center working with officials to determine what needs can be met by The Salvation Army. In addition to providing hydration needs, The Salvation Army workers are able to provide spiritual and emotional care to both first responders and those who have been affected by this tragic event.

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Since Myanmar’s monsoon season commenced in early June, almost 1 million individuals have been affected by widespread flooding – compounded by Cyclone Komen – in 12 of the 14 states throughout the nation. Thought to be the worst flooding in years, aproximately one hundred people have died and 1.2 million acres of rice fields have been destroyed.

The Salvation Army is working alongside authorities and nongovernment organizations (NGO) to provide relief to the affected communities in the form of meals, water, and shelter. Infrastructure remains point of concern as roads and bridges have been destroyed, and in some instances, swept away by the flooding. Many Salvation Army buildings and amenities are housing those that have been displaced from their homes. Long-term relief efforts will revolve around funding and redevelopment of homes, bogs, and wells.

With a one hundred-year presence in Myanmar, The Salvation Army will continue serving these communities long after the catastrophe is over.

The Salvation Army depends upon financial donations to fulfill the distinctive, urgent needs of communities in disaster, such as those within Myanmar. To help worldwide disaster relief efforts of The Salvation Army World Service Office (SAWSO), please go tohttps://donate.salvationarmyusa.org/SAWSO and select “Disaster Relief & Reconstruction”.

About The Salvation Army World Service Office (SAWSO)

SAWSO is committed to working hand-in-hand with local communities to help people who face challenges every day in countries around the globe. Created in 1977 as an independent 501(c) (3) to support the ministry of The Salvation Army, SAWSO has been strengthening global communities in need for nearly 38 years. SAWSO supports the Army’s impressive global footprint in 127 countries, developing long-term community-driven solutions to issues in the areas of:

The Salvation Army is committed to utilize philanthropic gifts in the manner donors desire. Occasionally, conditions in the field may alter relief activities. If this occurs, The Salvation Army will redirect funds to our International relief efforts in the area.

Please click here to watch the Service of Thanksgiving for General Burrows.

Soon after receiving the news that General Eva Burrows (Retired) had been promoted to Glory on the evening of 20 March 2015, the Chief of the Staff (Commissioner William Roberts) sent out the following information to Salvation Army leaders around the world, paying tribute to ‘the people’s General’ – The Salvation Army’s 13th international leader:

A daughter of Salvation Army officer parents, Eva Evelyn Burrows was born on 15 September 1929 in Newcastle, Australia. She committed her life to God for service as a Salvation Army officer while she was studying at Queensland University in Australia. Having received her Bachelor of Arts degree in May 1950, with majors in English and History, she entered the William Booth Memorial Training College in London, and was commissioned a Salvation Army officer in 1951.

Her first appointment was to Portsmouth Citadel Corps, in the Southampton and Channel Islands Division of the British Territory, as an assistant officer. Following this initial appointment, Eva Burrows was appointed as an officer teacher to the Howard Institute, a large mission station in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe).

During 14 years at Howard Institute, Eva became particularly concerned with the training of teachers for the network of Salvation Army schools throughout Zimbabwe. During her first homeland leave she undertook a course at Sydney University for the degree of Master of Education, and presented her thesis on the training of African teachers in Zimbabwe.

Returning to Howard Institute, she became the first woman vice-principal and, from that appointment, she became the Principal of the Usher Institute – a secondary boarding school for girls. Under her innovative leadership, Usher Institute became well known in Zimbabwe as an outstanding girls’ educational centre. In 1970 Eva Burrows was appointed to London where she spent five years at the International College for Officers, first as vice-principal and then principal.

A significant impact on Eva Burrows’s life was her appointment as leader of the Women’s Social Services in Great Britain and Northern Ireland from 1975 to 1977. It brought her into close touch with the effects of poverty and exploitation in the crowded cities of Britain.

Adaptation to a new culture became necessary when in January 1977 she became Territorial Commander for Sri Lanka. In less than three years she had made such an impression in that predominantly Buddhist country that The Ceylon Observer said of her: ‘People like Eva Burrows grace any country they serve in. The Salvation Army has been very pragmatic and practical about its work, and Eva Burrows is a symbol of the Army’s attitude to the poor and meek.’

In December 1979, she became leader of The Salvation Army’s work in Scotland where she undertook a further three years of inspirational leadership. Salvationists remember the drive and devotion which she brought to her task.

After 30 years of officer service, On 1 October 1982 Eva was appointed to the first assignment she ever held as an officer in her homeland. Based in Melbourne, she served as Territorial Commander for Australia Southern Territory. There, significant and innovative initiatives characterised her leadership style over the next four years. Such was the extent of her influence that she was regularly consulted by the Prime Minister for her opinion and advice on a variety of matters.

On 2 May 1986 the High Council elected Eva Burrows as the 13th General of The Salvation Army. She succeeded General Jarl Wahlström to office on 9 July 1986. She was welcomed for her energetic style of leadership, for her infectious enthusiasm and for her impatience with anything inefficient. She was the focus and symbol of unity, and her varied international experience eminently equipped her for the role.

The restructuring of the Army’s work in the United Kingdom was a complex issue that had been considered a number of times over many years, and with characteristic boldness and determination General Burrows addressed the issue head on, and drove it through to conclusion. In the authorised biography General of God’s Army (Henry Gariepy) it is recorded: ‘The international press of the Army headlined it “Revolution”, the term coined by its chief architect, Colonel John Larsson. “With characteristic boldness,” wrote Larsson, “the General has launched the Army’s most fundamental administrative change in the its 125-year history.” The restructuring of the Army’s International Headquarters and its British Territory was indeed revolutionary and radical.’

Under the Army’s constitution, General Burrows was scheduled to retire from office in July 1991 but, as a result of the process whereby a General may be extended in office if more than two-thirds of the active commissioners agree to the proposal, General Burrows was asked if she would consider extending her term of office by two years. She agreed to do so, thus enabling her not only to preside over the early development of the fledgling United Kingdom Territory, but also to give vigorous leadership to another of her visionary initiatives – the return of The Salvation Army to a number of Eastern Bloc countries where it had previously worked. General Eva led The Salvation Army back into eastern Europe, with work being re-established in the former East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Russia itself.

General Eva Burrows was honoured in many ways during her worldwide travel, not least by the receipt of a number of honorary degrees. On Australia Day (26 January) 1986 she was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) with the citation reading: ‘In recognition of service to the temporal and spiritual welfare of the community and to social justice as the world leader of The Salvation Army.’ On the same date in 1994 this honour was upgraded to Companion of the Order of Australia (AC), with a similar citation. In 1988 she became an Honorary Doctor of Liberal Arts at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, and was awarded an Honorary LLD from Asbury University in the USA in 1988. In December 1993, she received an honorary Doctor of Philosophy from her alma mater, the University of Queensland. On 1 January 2001 a Centenary Medal, ‘for service to the Australian community’, was awarded.

However, it was through her willingness to spend time with individuals, whatever their status, that General Eva Burrows became known to many as ‘the people’s General’ – a title she did not seek, but one that she cherished. People were Eva Burrows’s passion. Her interest in people at every level of society was not a professional skill that she had developed. It was an integral part of her nature. Having met a person, she had no difficulty in recalling the name, the face, the family situation, many years later. In her biography, Eva Burrows – Getting Things Done, Wendy Green wrote: ‘She only needs to meet people once and she knows all about them. She recognises them. Puts them in the right pigeonholes. When she was elected General she received a telephone call from her former teacher, Mr Adsett, one of her “shining people”. She recognised his voice immediately, after nearly 50 years. Mention a place, a person, she can give you an instant rundown.’ Eva Burrows never lost that passion for people, nor her gift for remembering them.

General Burrows’s passion in her public utterances was to preach Christ. This came out of her own personal experience of him, which she described thus: ‘The focus and dynamic of my life is Jesus Christ. I will lift up Christ and would challenge all Salvationists to a commitment to Christ which makes them a powerful witness for him in the world today.’ And on another occasion she declared: ‘I do not preach Christianity; I preach Christ, as a living Saviour.’

Dr Billy Graham, with whom General Burrows had a warm association, said of her: ‘General Eva Burrows is unquestionably one of the most respected and influential Christian leaders of our time. She is also an individual of great warmth, selfless compassion, unusual vision, and profound spiritual commitment. She embodies the spiritual commitment and dedication that led to the founding of The Salvation Army by William and Catherine Booth over 100 years ago.’

General Eva Burrows entered honourable retirement in July 1993, but hardly slowed down. She maintained a busy schedule of international travel and, when not travelling, could be found taking her place as an active soldier at the Army’s urban corps in Melbourne, Australia – not only attending Sunday meetings, but engaging with homeless youth during the week, leading Bible studies and being what she had always been – a good soldier of Jesus Christ. In addition to all of that, she served on the board of the International Bible Society from 1995 to 2005.

In recent months Eva’s physical strength began to wane, but her mental acuity, her spiritual vigour and her indomitable spirit remained unabated. To the very end of her earthly journey, Eva Burrows was an amazing role model and an inspiration to all who had the privilege of sharing her life. We thank God for the life of General Eva Burrows and for the impact of her ministry in the name of Christ on so many people throughout the world. Our thoughts go out in prayerful support to her family and friends. General Eva, one of nine children born to the later Major Robert and Mrs Major Ella Burrows, is survived by one sister, Margaret Southwell, and many nephews, nieces, great nephews and great nieces – all of whom meant so much to her.

Let her official biographer, the late Colonel Henry Gariepy, have the final word: ‘General Burrows, you transcend your generation as one of the greatest leaders of Salvation Army history, a leader of vision who took the Army where it had not dared to go before.’

Salvationists of the world join me in saluting one of our great Army leaders of modern times – General Eva Burrows. ‘Servant of God – well done!’

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Twelve years and counting, Salvation Army volunteer Elizabeth Laird, the “Hug Lady” of Fort Hood, has been hugging every soldier being deployed or returning home from duty.

Elizabeth and her husband, Ray, moved to Texas more than 40 years ago. They became long-time volunteers for The Salvation Army serving as bell ringers, disaster relief workers, and actively supported their local Salvation Army unit in Copperas Cove.

In 2003, Elizabeth received a phone call from the commanding officer of The Salvation Army Killeen Corps asking for help greeting soldiers at Fort Hood, the largest active duty armored post in the United States Armed Services. Being a veteran of the US Air Force, Elizabeth knew this was important and something she and her husband wanted to be part of. The couple joined other Salvation Army volunteers sending off soldiers with a smile and a hug along with stationery and postage to send letters to their loved ones while deployed. So began years of dedicated service to thousands of soldiers at Fort Hood, earning Elizabeth the affectionate nickname, the “Hug Lady.”

Ray passed away suddenly in January of 2008 and despite her grief Elizabeth continued her faithful service to the soldiers, without her husband of 36 years. “Even in grief, when you help others, it helps you,” explained Elizabeth. “The hug is important to the soldiers and it brings a smile to their face.”

“As they leave, I tell them about God’s protection in the 91st Psalm,” she added. “When I hug them, I tell them ‘I will be here when you get back’.”

Elizabeth, 82, does not consider herself selfless or extraordinary. “Volunteering and encouraging others is what you are supposed to do. That is what The Salvation Army does; where there is a need, the Army is there to meet it,” she said. “People might recognize me as the Hug Lady, but I don’t want people to see me, I want them to see Jesus.”

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History was made with the first private audience in the Vatican with Pope Francis and the General of The Salvation Army.

General André Cox met the Pope who said that theological differences do not impede the witness of a shared love of God and neighbor. He also spoke of his first encounter, as a 4 year old, with Salvation Army Officers which, he said, stirred in him a sense of ecumenical outreach beyond the teachings of the Catholic Church in that era.